20 young people from Bethlehem and London have been meeting since the beginning of October 2010 in their respective countries to explore the impact of conflict on their lives and communities. The videos they have produced in the framework of the project will inform a live debate show to be launched in the UK on 18 November 2010.

This is the first time Our Everyday Lives TV (OELTV) launches a live TV debate programme that brings diverse groups of young people together to discuss about the conflict in their lives – asking them what future they see for themselves and whether they believe there can be peace in their time?

Young people are often seen as the innocent victims of conflict – passive, silent bystanders confined by political, religious, racial, territorial or family wars that they do not understand and can do nothing about. A conflict takes lives, imprisons family members and friends, creates fear and loathing, denies futures, prevents education and healthcare, stops food, breaks economies, yet the resilience, particularly of children and young people, to survive is evident around the world.

“We want to learn about other conflicts, understand the difference between our conflict and what young people in England experience. We want to make new friends, learn how to film and learn from each other,” says a young person from Bethlehem.

OELTV project is facilitated by Mouth That Roars (MTR), an international not-for-profit youth media company. MTR was set up in 1998 with the sole purpose of training marginalised young people, who would not normally have access to media resources, in video production. OELTV aims to teach young people to become “conscious and informed” online programme makers, involving them at all levels of production, whilst developing essential life skills.